From the (Acting) Principal's Desk

Dear Banmira Families,

I am excited and proud to be stepping into the Acting Principal role for the remainder of Term One. It is an absolute privilege to continue leading our wonderful school community, and I want to take this opportunity to wish Ange all the best as she embarks on her new role, supporting a range of schools and educational leaders in our area.

To support this transition, I’m pleased to share that Kylie Freeman has been appointed to the position of Acting Assistant Principal (Junior Campus) for the remainder of the term, and Samantha Bentley will step into the role of Acting Leading Teacher for Junior Campus in Kylie's place. I know they will both do a fantastic job in these roles.

This week, I have had the opportunity to spend time across both our Junior and Senior campuses, which has been a wonderful experience. It was my first time back at the Senior Campus since 2024, after my recent focus on leading the Junior Campus, and it has been fantastic seeing how much our students have grown in such a short time! It was also incredibly exciting to see our new learning spaces, including our new Gym, our Outside School Hours Care program, ‘Banmira Care’, and our developing Independent Living Skills space—all positive additions to enhance our students' experiences.

I’m also looking forward to more upcoming changes, including an upgrade to the Senior School Sensory Room, which is currently in development. This will be a fantastic addition to support the diverse needs of our students.

A key focus for us this year is strengthening our communication and community connections. Our primary communication platform is the Seesaw app, and we encourage all families to stay engaged through this. If you are not yet connected, please reach out to your child’s teacher for support. As a school leader, it has been wonderful to see staff sharing the incredible learning happening in classrooms through Seesaw, helping to build strong connections between home and school.

I want to remind families from both campuses, that everyone is welcome to join our Parent Hub coffee mornings. There is more information, dates and times in our 'Junior Campus News' section of the newsletter.

Lastly, I want to celebrate the official opening of our new campus, which took place on Friday, 14th March. This was a fantastic event marking an exciting new chapter for our school, and we can’t wait to share more photos, news, and highlights in our next newsletter.

Thank you for your ongoing support, and I look forward to the next few weeks in this role!

Jesse Whittaker

Acting Principal

Banmira Specialist School

School Council elections and AGM

Our School Council AGM will be held on Monday 24th March.

If you are thinking about joining School Council, you are welcome to come along to see what it is all about.  If you are thinking of nominating for school council, please give me a ring to have a chat about it.

Nomination forms are attached to this newsletter and are available from each campuses main office.

Pathways & Transitions - Year 12

Banmira Specialist School Senior Campus will be holding an Information Session for families to be informed around service supports and pathway options for your child after Year 12. Please see the very important flyer under 'Senior Campus News'. 

Privacy

Annual privacy reminder for our school community

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice.

Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy, describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn. 

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ privacy policy: information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• Chinese
• Dari
• Gujarati
• Mandarin
• Somali
• Sudanese
• Turkish
• Urdu
• Vietnamese

Personal property Brought to School

Any personal item/property that is brought to school by a student is the responsibility of the student and is not the responsibility of the school and is not covered by school insurance. 

Students are responsible for personal items/property they bring to school. Neither the Department nor the school is responsible if any student’s personal item/property is lost, stolen or damaged.

Medical Expenses

 Parents/carers are responsible for any medical expenses (including ambulance costs) incurred if their child is injured or requires medical treatment or an ambulance while at school, or participating in a school activity. Please be aware that we may not call you until after an ambulance is called, depending on the situation.

CSEF

Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF): The CSEF is an annual payment paid to the school, to be allocated towards camps, sports and/or excursion expenses for the benefit of the eligible student.  If you are the holder of a concession card such as a Pension Card or Health Care Card, you may be eligible for CSEF.

The annual CSEF amount per student is as follows:

• Primary school student rate: $154 per year

• Secondary School student rate: $256 per year

If you believe that you qualify for this payment, please contact the office for further information.

International Women's Day

Senior Campus students in D1 showed us their drawings of the special women in their lives for International Women's Day.